The present invention relates to surfaces and coatings of surfaces useable in ink jet printing. More specifically, the present invention relates to a formulation for use in a coating for receiving ink jet printing.
Ink jet printers are known and provide a number of advantages in the printing process. For example, ink jet printers are capable of providing relatively high density color output at an acceptable printing speed. Further, such printers are relatively inexpensive. However, there are some surfaces on which it is difficult to print with an ink jet printer. For example, the ink from an ink jet printer typically does not adhere well to most polyester surfaces.
Fabricating receiving surfaces for ink jet ink is known in the art. Since ink jet ink is primarily aqueous, the receptive surface must be hydrophilic. Previous work indicates that acrylic resin, casein, cellulose, gelatin, gum arabic, maleic anhydride resin, melamine resin, polyaminoamide resins, poly acrylamide, polyacrylic acid, polyacrylate, polyalkylene glycol, polyethylene imine, polyethylene oxide, polysaccharides, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyridine, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, sodium alginate, soy protein, starch, and urea resin, including derivatives and mixtures, can serve as the basis in obtaining an ink jet receptive material. (See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,474,850, 4,528,242, 4,555,437, 4,575,465, 4,578,285, 4,592,954, 4,650,714, 4,680,235, 4,732,786, 4,839,200, 4,877,678, 4,877,686, 4,877,688, 4,900,620, 4,944,988, 5,006,407, 5,084,340, 5,118,570, 5,120,601, 5,126,193, 5,126,194, 5,139,867, 5,139,868, 5,141,797, 5,180,624, 5,190,805, 5,206,071, 5,208,092, 5,213,873, 5,302,437, 5,328,748, 5,352,503, 5,364,702.)
As a consequence of being hydrophilic, the previously named compounds are generally water soluble. As such, significant work has been done to further polymerize or "cross-link" these compounds to increase their water resistance. For example, this has been done with polyfunctional aziridine (U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,092), boric acid (U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,686), carboxylate reactive cross-linkers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,786), plasticizers (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,006,407 and 5,118,570), polyisocyanate, polyepichlorohydrin, or polymethylol (U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,868), polymeric high molecular weight quaternary ammonium salt (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,830,911, 5,165,973 and 5,206,071), or titanium chelate (U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,797).
Additionally, the ink receptive material frequently contains a pigment or filler to aid in the absorbance and stability of the ink. These fillers are typically aluminum hydroxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum silicate, barium sulfate, calcium carbonate, calcium silicate, calcium sulfate clay, diatomaceous earth, kaolin, magnesium carbonate, magnesium oxalate, magnesium silicate, polystyrene, silicon dioxide, talc, tin hydroxide, titanium dioxide, zeolites, and zirconium hydroxide. (See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,758,461, 4,770,934, 4,877,678, 4,877,686, 4,900,620, 5,041,328, 5,124,201, 5,137,778, 5,165,973, 5,171,626, 5,180,624, 5,185,231, 5,190,805, 5,194,317, 5,213,873, 5,246,774, 5,266,383, 5,277,962, 5,281,467, 5,302,437, 5,320,897, 5,338,597, 5,362,558 and 5,372,884.)
Ink stabilizers are also frequently added to enhance the stability of the printed image. (See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,419,388, 4,926,190 and 5,096,781.) Such additives include carboxylic acids (U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,436), hydroquinone derivatives (U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,448), and poly(dialkanol allylamine) derivatives or poly(dialkanol modified alkylene glycol) (U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,084).
In general, the prior art has lacked a material which can be easily applied to form a printing surface on a substrate by screen printing, and can receive aqueous ink such as those inks which are for example, used in ink jet printers. Further, images formed on such prior art printing surfaces are not sufficiently water resistant and are easily smudged. Such printing surfaces are capable of bonding onto only a limited number of substrates. An ink receiving surface that reduces any of these problems would be particularly useful for use in printing onto CD recordable disks and identification cards.